The most common and most effective way to counterpunching is to attack when your opponent attacks. This would require a high level of reaction time and reflex because the counterpunch must be timed perfectly to be able to hit, otherwise the counterpuncher would be the one to be hit. Generally, boxers stare at their opponent's shoulders because these parts of the body move first when someone attempts to throw a punch. At the first sign of shoulder's movement, the counterpuncher throws a faster punch to the opponent. This fundamental strategy is nullified by Motionless Jab, where a boxer trains to prevent the shoulder from moving when throwing a punch, widely demonstrated by anime's world champion Ricardo Martinez. Due to the opponent being on full offensive, his/her defense is open, making a counterpunch a surefire hit.

Other ways of doing counterpunch is to dodge the attack then executing a quick punch. If the blow is fast enough, the opponent would be hit before his/her defense is back up. Sometimes, a counterpunch is done after blocking a punch. This way of countering, however, could be hard to do since blocking the opposing punch means that the boxers' hand/s are occupied. Also, blocking a punch means accepting it and therefore would put an impact and damage on the boxer. This would put the boxer on state of recovery and might be the reason for the more delayed reaction and therefore failed counterpunch. Parrying on the other hand would be a better way to counter, since a parried opponent would be on a state of split-second shock which could be enough to throw a punch before the they're back on their defense. Shoulder roll also has a way to force a counterpunch by parrying punches with the boxer's shoulder, forcing a glancing blow, then executing a cross.

Because the opponent is on the offensive and putting weight forward to throw punches, their own power is turned against them, combined with the force of the counter punch itself, amplifying it further. When accurate, they can be truly devastating if on target.

However, a missed counter punch can lead to the counterpuncher to be hit because counterpunches are usually thrown while the opponent is throwing his. With this in mind, counterpunching needs a very high level reflexes to execute properly. If the countered punch prove to be faster than the counterpunch or the counterpuncher's reflexes, the counterpuncher is in a serious trouble. This kind of scenario is best seen on an MMA bout between Rashad Evans and Chuck Lidell.

Counterpunching also, most of the time, means that the counterpuncher is on full offense. A missed counterpunch could mean a devastating damage to the boxer if the opponent strikes back after a missed counter.